Public understanding of science bibliography: September 1999
A monthly round-up of books reports and articles collated by the Wellcome
Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine (Information Service).
All the below resources are publicly available, for reference, in the
Information Service <http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/infoserv/> or from the
British Library, Lending Division, via public, academic or special
libraries.
BOOKS AND REPORTS
Shahroudi, J. and Shaw, G.
Attitudes towards the human genome project.
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Kentucky Psychological
Association, November 1997. ERIC reports
Washington, D. C.: U.S. Department of Education 1997 21pp
A report of a qualitative research project on American college students'
attitudes towards the human genome project. Positive attitudes toward the
project involved privacy, insurance and health, economic purposes,
reproductive purposes, genetic counselling, religion and overall opinions.
Negative attitudes were expressed regarding discrimination and judicial
processes.
Philo, G. (ed.)
Message received: Glasgow Media Group research, 1993-1998.
Harlow: Longman 1999 382pp
ISBN: 0582298008
A monograph on the work of the Glasgow media group, Includes chapters on the
media's role in risk communication, mental illness and food panics.
Novartis UK Ltd, MORI
Attitudes towards scientific and technological advances: Summary results
tables of a Novartis UK Ltd./MORI survey, 19-24 August 1999
Novartis UK Ltd. 1999
The summary results table from a MORI survey of public attitudes towards
biomedical advances. The survey was commissioned by Novartis UK Ltd. Face to
face interviews were conducted with a nationally representative quota sample
of 991 adults aged 15+ in 165 different locations in the UK. Questions
focused on topics such as animal experiments, cloning, genetic modification
of food, genetic testing, human-to-human and animal-to-human organ
transplants. Copies available from Novartis UK Ltd.
Articles-Public understanding of science
The misappliance of science.
Science writer Hugh Aldersey-Williams labels leading public understanding of
science figures, John Durant, Richard Dawkins and Lewis Wolpert, 'dreary
antagonists' who fail to contribute constructively to the public
understanding of science. Aldersey-Williams hopes that the new wave of
women public understanding protagonists, such as Dame Bridget Ogilvie, Chair
of COPUS and Susan Greenfield, the new director of the Royal Institution,
will revitalise an open dialogue between science and society.
New Statesman 13 September 1999 p.41-43
Golem science and the public understanding of science: from deficit to
dilemma.
"Golem Science" is Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch's humanized image of
science, filled with irresolution, that they wish to substitute for the
"god-like" image of definitive knowledge characteristic of public
presentations of science. This god-like image creates an unrealistic view,
set to fuel 'anti-scientific reactions" when unmet. This paper argues that
view set forth by Collins and Pinch is a deficit model that positions the
public as sociologically incompetent.
Simon Locke Public Understanding of Science Vol 8 No 2 p75-92
Science on the Underground: an initial evaluation.
The paper describes an initial evaluation of the "Science on the
Underground" project in London, United Kingdom. The project uses posters
based on concept cartoons to raise awareness, provoke follow-up action and
raise understanding of science amongst passengers. The nature of the concept
cartoon is described. A number of data collection methods were used during
the evaluation, including interview, observation, analysis of media
coverage, and analysis of web site comments. The conclusions are that the
project has lead to an encouraging level of awareness of and interest in the
project and a limited degree of follow-up action. Insufficient data are
available to draw conclusions about the impact on public understanding of
science.
Stuart Naylor and Brenda Keogh, Public Understanding of Science Vol 8 No 2
p105-122
Scientific literacy for all citizens: different concepts and contents.
In this article three different descriptions of curricula for scientific
literacy (SL) are summarized, compared, and critically reviewed from the
point of view of their suitability for all citizens. The paper looks at
Science For All Americans, by the AAAS; the report Towards Scientific
Literacy, published by the International Institute for Adult Literacy
Methods; and Minimum Science For Everyone, published by an Indian voluntary
organization.
Rakesh Popli, Public Understanding of Science Vol 8 No 2 p.123-137
To the future-arguments for scientific literacy
This commentary explores the most common meanings of 'scientific literacy'
and distinguishes 'scientific literacy-or the democratic having of creative,
scientific "habits of mind" by everybody-from science literacy-or the having
of particular scientific knowledge by trained experts.
Jane Maienschein and Students, Science Communication Vol 21 1, September
1999 p.75-87
Bibliography
A round-up of scholarly recent literature on Environmental and Risk
Communication, Health Communication, Public Opinion Regarding Science and
Technology, Science Communication and Science and Technology Museums and
Exhibits.
Williams Evans, Public Understanding of Science Vol 8 No 2. p147-149
Articles-Public attitudes and participation
Attitudes towards creationism and evolutionary theory: the debate among
secondary pupils attending Catholic and Protestant schools in Northern
Ireland.
Of a sample of 2129 pupils in the third through sixth years of Protestant
and Catholic grammar schools in Northern Ireland, 48 percent accept the view
that "God created the world as described in the bible," while 33 percent
accept the view that "Science disproves the biblical account of creation."
Support for creationism is stronger among girls than boys, among Protestants
than Catholics, and among third and fourth year students than fifth and
sixth year students. The results have implications for understanding the
conflict between science and religion for both science educators and for
religious educators.
Leslie J. Francis and John E. Greer, Public Understanding of Science Vol 8
No 2 p93-103
Will labour listen to opinions on nuclear waste?
A report on the growing use of consensus conferences to ignite public debate
asks: how effective are these conferences and other methods of public
consultation?. Includes a discussion of the Institute of Food Research's
evaluation of public consultation methods, the 1999 conference on nuclear
waste, the 1994 conference on plant biotechnology and the recent national
public consultation on the biosciences.
THES 1399 27 August 1999 p.25
Articles-Health/Science communication
Gaining informed consent for screening.
An article by Joan Austoker, director of the CRC Primary Care Education
Group at Oxford, seeks to find effective ways of truly informing consent for
screening. It is argued that there is benefit and harm in all procedures of
this type and therefore individuals must receive full and accurate
information.
BMJ 319 18 September 1999 p.722
Helping patients access high quality health information.
This article looks at the reasons for providing consumers with healthcare
information and summarises the main sources.
BMJ 319 18 September 1999 p.764
Articles-Science Education
The Teacher-Scientist Network.
Frank Chennell discusses the merits of the teacher-scientist partnerships in
enhancing and supporting science education in primary schools.
Education in Science September 1999 p.20-21
Articles-Science and ethics
Why food ethics?
Ruth Chadwick, a member of the UK Food Ethics Council, discusses ethical
debates surrounding genetically modified (GM) foods. The article focuses on
two issues: the safety of genetically modified foods and consumer choice.
Chemistry & Industry 18 20 September 1999 p.697
Articles-Science and media
Daddy scientist doesn't know best.
Two letters continue the debate about GM crops in reply to Professor Steve
Jones' earlier article discussing the political implications and media
attention of the GM debate.
THES 1400 3 September 1999 p.13 See also THES 1399
Book review of Science and the Media: Alternative Routes in Scientific
Communication by Massimiano Bucchi.
Jon Turney,Public Understanding of Science Vol 8 No 2 p.144-145
Show me the science
Harry Kroto, the Nobel prizewinning chemistry professor, criticises TV's
science programming as " a joke", arguing programmers have to allow
scientists to explain and discuss the advances that they have made. Focuses
on the Vega Science Trust, which aims to bridge the gap between professional
and public understanding of science through programme making.
THES 1402 17 September 1999 p.19
The versatile "caveat" section of an epidemiology paper: managing public and
private risk.
Are toxic-exposure epidemiologists influenced, when writing the "caveat"
portion of their article, by how the media, public and courts might use
their work? Qualitative interviews with 61 epidemiologists revealed they
relied on caveats to manage "public risk"-inappropriate use of their work by
nonscientists.
David A Rier Science Communication Vol 21 1, September 1999 p.3-37
Should reporters use risk as a determinant of environmental change?
Although many of the news sources that provide environmental information to
the media discus environmental issues in terms of degree of risk,
journalists continue to rely on their own traditional determinants of news.
They cover politics, economics, the social aspects, and even the racial
aspects of environmental stories, in addition to the scientific questions
involved. By hanging on to their own ways if looking at things, the media
have steered clear of the influence of those involved in environmental
affairs. They have set their own environmental agendas instead of relying on
the value judgements of their source.
David B. Sachsman Science Communication Vol 21 1, September 1999 p.88-95
Xenotransplantation: normalizing disgust.
A paper on the notion of "disgust" in popular reporting on transgenics and
xenotransplantation.
Nik Brown, Science as Culture Vol 8 3, September 1999 p.297-335
The scientist as pioneer hero: Hollywood's mythological reconciliations in
Twister and Contact
An essay on the representation of scientists in Hollywood movies, focusing
on recent releases.
Geoff King, Science as Culture Vol 8 3, September 1999 p.371-380
Articles-Science museums
£97m spent on silly revamp of museum.
A dispute has broken over the scientific value of exhibits in the new
Bristol science centre, Explore at Bristol, due to open in June 2000. The
new centre will replace the Bristol Exploratory which closes this week.
Exploratory scientific advisers have branded the new hands-on exhibits as
'puerile and silly'.
Independent 30 August 1999 p.8
Wellcome for education on science in society.
Dr. Laurence Smaje, of the Wellcome Trust, defends Explore at Bristol's move
away from traditional 'hands-on' exhibits, recently criticised in Nature.
(Nature 400, 801 & 804;)"Traditional 'hands-on' science centres barely touch
on modern science or biomedicine, and the social context is ignored
altogether".
Nature 401 p423-424 30 September 1999 See also response from Gillian Thomas,
Nature 401,111-112
Evaluating a web site for museums.
A description of an evaluation of a web site set up by North East Museums
for museums in its region. The results enable conclusions to be drawn about
the potential of web sites for increasing the market for museums and
developing relationships with new audiences.
Andrew Newman, Museum Practice Issue 11 Vol 4 Number 2 1999 p.45-47
German museums face cuts.
Publicly funded research at Germany's six largest science and history
museums is to be cut next year by 7.5%.
Nature 401 23 September 1999 p.315
Modifying genetics.
Matt Ridley suggests that traditional methods of communicating science such
as books and lectures are giving way to a new way of popularising science:
the National Lottery funded breed of science centres.
Guardian Online 9 September 1999 p.3
Karen John-Pierre
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